A Gift

Everyone has their own personal definition of a gift. Some may say a gift is nothing more but an item given from one person to another on a special occasion. From my personal experience I can certainly say that a gift is much more than just an item. A gift brings joy and happiness to me. Receiving a gift always brightens my day. I not only appreciate receiving gifts but I also enjoy giving gifts to both loved ones and less fortunate people, who do not receive gifts that often. In my 17 years of living I have given out many gifts, but one in particular stands out the most.

It was the Winter of 2002, a blistering cold December day. I was in New York City and I had just finished attending a Hockey game at Madison Square Garden. I was with two of my friends, Kevin and Zack and we were walking towards the subway. That day it was so cold that even through a shirt, two sweaters and a heavy coat I was still shivering. It had to have been at least eight degrees outside. Snow was everywhere, the city had just been through a heavy snow storm. A Three minute walk seemed like an eternity in the harsh cold. We finally reached the subway and in relief we let ourselves in. At the entrance to the subway I noticed a shadowy figure sitting all scrunched up on the side of the wall. I made nothing of it until I realized that the figure was an old man.

Never in my life have I seen a man shiver so vigorously the way this man was shaking. He had a torn light jacket with only one shirt under that. As I examined the man more closely I noticed he had no shoes, he was barefoot. I was shocked to see a man could survive in this

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cold with no shoes and such lack of clothing. I came to a sudden halt in front of the man and a sudden feeling of lament came over me. Kevin, not knowing I had stopped, turned around and asked me what the problem was. He then seen the poor man shivering and we all stood there, speechless. One of us had to make the first move, so I decided to speak first. I went up to the man and hesitated, I went blank and had no idea what to ask him. Finally I asked the man if he was hungry. The man looked up straight in to my eyes and with a grieving moan he shook his head. The man did not even have enough in him to speak. This man was on the verge of dieing.

I turned